Earthquakes in Bangladesh
On April 13, 2016, on the eve of Pahela Baishakh, Bangladesh was jolted by a strong earthquake, many buildings were tilted and people were injured when they were hurrying out of the houses.
It has been reported that Bangladesh had one earthquake in the previous week, two earthquakes in the past month and 27 earthquakes in the past year. A very grim picture and the intensity is increasing as time is passing by.
Only recently the scientists have come to recognise that Bangladesh is positioned at the juncture of several active tectonic plate boundaries. Moreover, it sits atop the world’s largest river delta at close to sea level, facing both the risk posed by a quake and secondary risks of tsunamis and flooding in the quake’s aftermath. These teaching case materials show the fieldwork of an international team of scientists working to provide Bangladeshi leaders the tools they need to understand and minimise geologic risks.
But are the leaders at all concerned about it? They are busy with politics and taking up big projects costing billions of dollars/takas one after another offering scope of big money kick-backs. So, hoping they will become active to save people from casualties seems to be a far cry.
Nur Jahan
Chittagong
